Ham Radio Activity > Telegraphy

Acceptable QRS time frame

(1/3) > >>

N5STS:
How long is it acceptable to QRS on 7.114?  How long did ya'll spend QRSing before you felt comfortable enough to let lose a >12wpm?  I know that the question is kind of subjective but i would like to hear about different QRS experiences. 

G0BVZ:
In my day you had to go to a Coastal Station for a morse sending and receiving test @12 wpm before you could get a full ticket. My generation lived in terror of the assessors so most folk were good for 15wpm before they applied for the test, just to be sure.  ;D  My assessor was kindness personified: the 'warm up' before the sending session was actually the test itself!!  I got to play on the station key and even inexperienced me could tell it was a fine device. Now I know what it was. They're no longer manufactured and they change hands used for £400+.  <sigh...>

One popular method was to listen to CW characters @ 12+ wpm with a really big space between characters. As time went by the character spacing was reduce little by little until the op was working 12wpm true.  At least that way you're learning the sounds of morse right from the start.

Vic /Ship's Cat, QLF QSD CW exponent par excellence...

GM0LVI:
Hi Aaron & welcom to the club, you'll find it a great place to start with QRP radio with your General class license.
To attempt to answer your question regarding how long to stick to QRS - Well, it takes as long as it takes and the more you get out the key and practice, either on air on on a computer the sooner you'll get your speed up.
I'm in the same boat as Vic and had to pass a test at 12wpm to get my class A and gain access to the HF bands. It took me about 8 months to get up to 15 wpm to give me a bit of leeway for the test. I would take an oscillator and key to work and spend 15 minutes during my lunch breaks and then when I was comfortably up to about 7 or 8 wpm I joined a net on 2m where we held practice sessions two or three times a week. I also listened to the ARRL cw practice transmissions on HF and to one from Holland.
Sadly I made a big mistake once I gained access to the HF bands - I didn't keep up my cw and for several years only made a handful of cw contacts. I think that one of the things that put me off using cw was that when I sent a CQ at about 15 wpm someone came back at about 20+ and my reaction was to panic and switch off! So for about 20 years I seldom used the key until I got into 2m DX and later 6m DX. Later I started taking QRP radios on holiday and found that by far the best way to make contacts was to use cw so little by little my speed improved.
Suggestions -
1. Call CQ at a speed you are comfortable with and don't let youself be put off by a station that comes back at a much faster speed. He/She is just a bad mannered operator.
2. Listen to the ARRL code practice transmissions.
3. Get used to identifying your own call at high speeds.
4. Get a memory keyer, program it with your call and 599 and try to work stations that are just running pile-ups.
5. Use your KX3's Utility software to help you read and send cw (once you get your speed up you'll find that using the key alone is easier!)
6. Don't worry about making mistakes - just correct them.
7. Stick with it. The effort will be worth it and the journey enjoyable.

And, just to encourage you- An hour ago at 2000z with 5 Watts from my KX3 I worked N1HEL in CA on 17m cw. 1000 miles per Watt.

G0BVZ:

--- Quote from: GM0LVI on February 17, 2014, 21:06:13 UTC ---1. Call CQ at a speed you are comfortable with and don't let youself be put off by a station that comes back at a much faster speed. He/She is just a bad mannered operator.
--- End quote ---

Dave, I'm shocked.  How could you be so unfair?  How can you say the op is bad mannered when there's a good chance he/she is simply not very bright?  ;D

Aaron, I forgot to mention that there's scads of free 'lern yerself morse' programs out there for Windows, linux, Android...... which will let you put in a little rx practice wherever and whenever you are. Download the freebies, try 'em out and stick with the one(s) which give you the best result on your hardware.  Look for words like koch and farnsworth... they represent well regarded systems. One of them is sure to suit you.

Give yourself permission to enjoy what you're doing: it ain't supposed to be an ordeal!! ;D

Vic /dit dit

GM0LVI:

--- Quote from: G0BVZ on February 17, 2014, 22:45:33 UTC ---
--- Quote from: GM0LVI on February 17, 2014, 21:06:13 UTC ---1. Call CQ at a speed you are comfortable with and don't let youself be put off by a station that comes back at a much faster speed. He/She is just a bad mannered operator.
--- End quote ---

Dave, I'm shocked.  How could you be so unfair?  How can you say the op is bad mannered when there's a good chance he/she is simply not very bright?  ;D


--- End quote ---

As a former teacher, I've sometimes thought it, but never said it!

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page